This video sequence begins with the core conditioning exercise (so familiar to Chiba Sensei’s students), segues to the small backward roll and then opens up into an ikkyo omote ukemi practice. The elements are mostly familiar, however, many Birankai practitioners have commented they’ve never seen the elements assembled quite this way, into a repeatable, solo warm up routine.

Opportunities in this sequence to attend to:

Alignment and relative position of hip, knee, ankle, foot. Remember “when the parents fight the child suffers” (when the movement of the hip and foot are out of synch the knee can torque).

What’s your recipe of muscular contraction and relaxation, as you move through the positions?

How do you use your eyes, where do you place your gaze? Eyes lead the turning movements and assist in maintaining alignment. Intention leads attention and organizes whole-body movement.

Is the arm supple and relaxed? The chest and ribs flexible? Holding tension unconsciously during technique can lead to injury.

Are you using your bones, and making good use of the ground to support your weight?

Recent Posts:

Winter Intensive is a time to renew our resolve to practice, to warm up our body in the cold of winter, and to come together with our fellow dojo members and support each other in making great strides in improving our Aikido.

This video sequence begins with the core conditioning exercise (so familiar to Chiba Sensei’s students), segues to the small backward roll and then opens up into an ikkyo omote ukemi practice. The elements are mostly familiar, however, even seasoned Birankai practitioners have commented they’ve never seen the elements assembled quite this way, into a repeatable, solo warm up exercise.

Having attended Women’s Camp recently, we were asked to reflect on the question “why I practice?” I came to aikido rather late in life. I was almost 50 years old four years ago when I took my first class with Van Amburgh Sensei at Multnomah Aikikai in Portland.

Exercise is great for all of us. Finding a movement practice you enjoy is key to sticking with regular exercise. August offers several great opportunities to discover the benefits of Aikido practice for people of all walks of life, including people living with a movement disorder such as Parkinson's disease.